England not thinking of whitewash

England seamer James Anderson insists the squad are not entertaining thoughts of a 5-0 whitewash over Australia ahead of the third Ashes Test.

Having dominated the series so far with victories at Trent Bridge and Lord's, the talk now is of a clean sweep over the tourists.

But as Old Trafford prepares to host its first Ashes clash since the memorable draw of 2005 - when 10th-wicket pair Brett Lee and Glen McGrath survived the final four overs - Anderson stressed the hosts were concentrating only on the job in hand.

"It (5-0) is not something we are really focusing on," said Anderson, the series' joint leading wicket-taker.

"We played really well in the first two games and our job is to improve on that.

"It has gone well for us so far. We are very conscious of not getting ahead of ourselves.

"We have to concentrate on winning this game and not looking too far ahead in the series."

With Burnley-born Anderson playing on home turf at Old Trafford, he is hoping to gain some sort of advantage - whether it be from the pitch or the fans.

"I am very exited about it. I have not played an Ashes Test here before," he added.

"There have been a few requests for tickets and hopefully I can keep everyone happy.

"I was fortunate to get to one of the days here in 2005 and the atmosphere was incredible.

"The ground looks amazing, the redevelopments have made huge improvements and come Thursday it will be an incredible atmosphere and something we are all looking forward to.

"The whole region is cricket-mad and to get an Ashes Test back is a huge thing for the area."